The Word Among Us

Easter 2011 Issue

Open Ears, Open Hearts

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

A Symphony of Voices

The past few years have been very busy for Pope Benedict XVI. In addition to all of his travels, meetings with bishops, and pastoral duties as the bishop of Rome, he has had to deal with a number of challenging crises: sex-abuse scandals in Europe and elsewhere, persecution against Christians in the Middle East, and the AIDS epidemic in Africa, to name just a few. In a recent interview, the pope admitted that all of this is a consuming, exhausting job that demands long hours and intense concentration. More »

Encountering the God Who Speaks

Life is full of questions: What is the key to happiness? Why do bad things happen to good people? What is my purpose on this earth? Why is there evil in the world? In a world that values quick fixes, it can be unsettling to confront questions like these—complex questions that cannot be solved with simple slogans or one-word answers. More »

Face-to-Face with the Gospel

What should I do?” The question came during the hour of lectio divina—prayerful reading of the Bible—that I have led for many years in the parish of San Martino, in Rome, where I live. The questioner was intense; she wanted an answer from us. She wanted an answer from God. More »

The Four Levels of Lectio

Lectio divina, the church’s most ancient way of reading Scripture, can be done both individually and in a group. Though not a rigid method, it traditionally involves four basic levels, or movements. In each one, the same Bible passage is read from a different angle. Here is how Pope Benedict describes the process in "Verbum Domini" (87): More »

Special Feature

Celebrating a Master Builder

Be Not Afraid! With these words, Karol Wojtyla began his pontificate as Pope John Paul II. And no one embodied these words more than he did. More »

Witnesses to the Word

We all know that the Bible is different from any other book. As Pope Benedict XVI tells us, it has the power to draw us into “a conversation with the Lord” (Verbum Domini, 24). More »

Open Ears, Open Hearts

What does the title "How to Listen When God Is Speaking" suggest to you? Perhaps it sounds like a how-to book that gives us ten simple steps to know the will of God in every situation. More »